July 2014
A revitalised space sector reduces costs and makes space data more accessible
... value of space in everyday life started to become apparent with the launch of the first communications satellites in the 1960s. Nowadays, weather satellites are taken for granted as an essential part of the forecasting process, while people rarely...
March 2015
On-orbit satellite servicing, insurance and lessons of Palapa B2 and Westar 6
... Barrett was overjoyed when the 14th Space Shuttle flight retrieved Palapa B2 and Westar 6, two failed communication satellites whose identical anomalies had left them stranded in useless orbits far below their intended geosynchronous target...
March 2015
Ka-band satellite communication and lowering the price of VSATs
... since 6 April 1965 and the launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite. In that time three technological revolutions in satellite communication have occurred right before my eyes. All three were connected with mastering new...
March 2015
ARTES and the world of satcoms
... the mainstay of the space industry: more than half of the space business involves building and launching communication satellites. Satcoms services and applications are the largest space sector and are a major driver of space technology...
August 2016
High-resolution Earth observation data is changing the character of war
.... Spacepower is ubiquitous, or in the case of Earth observation near ubiquity, because communications, satellite navigation and environmental monitoring satellite systems provide coverage of the entire Earth’s surface. Finally, spacepower provides...
April 2017
Urgent action needed to keep satellites safe in orbit
... of uncorrelated objects contains the high area-to-mass (HAMR) objects [15]. Space weathering and satellite aging A modern communications satellite is a complex system involving numerous subsystems that have finite lifetimes due to mechanical wearing...
